Damanhur…
   A 4th Dimensional Journey

By Darlene Sacca

Our spiritual guide for this exploration was Tricia McCannon — the most perfect person for our journey. Tricia, a forty something photographer for Kodak in Chicago, is also an international teacher, clairvoyant, healer and author. Tricia has been trained since she was nineteen by the Vairgi masters in the ancient traditions of the Far East as well as in Egyptian and Celtic paths, Native American Twisted Hair traditions and is a Priestess of Isis. If that isn’t enough for a spiritual guide, Tricia’s fun/joy meter was set on high. We later found out that joy is a major part of high vibrational living. With our new adventurous friends we knew this was going to hit twenty on the rector scale of transformational highs in life…and soon we were off — caravanned to Damanhur.

We arrived at our two-story Italian Villa. It was everything one could need on a spiritual journey; nine bedrooms, a big kitchen area, a meditation room and Pellicano, (Pelican) our full time friend, assistant and master maker of meals. Pelican is also an artist, seamstress and a Damanhurian.

Our 11-day journey had begun. The very first thing I noticed was the buoyancy I felt. I was not tired, had no jetlag, and was ready to go for a run down the long dirt road that disappeared in the distant countryside by our villa. Instead we made our way down the street to the village of Damanhur where we were greeted by the people who are collectively referred to as Damanhurians. Their faces glowed as they welcomed us and even though there was sometimes a language barrier between Italian and American, their warmth was so easy to connect with. We could see these people truly cared about life, about each other, and about us. In the village there were shops with some of the most beautiful, unique handmade jewelry, extraordinary works of art, beautifully designed silk clothing, sweaters, blankets, and healing devices. What was so appealing about this was the material used, the colors, and the absolute uniqueness. Their textiles, stained glass and mosaic tiles are considered among the most beautiful on the planet.

Soon we began to understand that the people of Damanhur live through a broad spiritual and political vision of reality. They create a pure stimulating environment in which all aspects of life are interpreted and recreated through art. In Damanhur art is viewed as a way of changing one’s thinking, a way of transforming oneself — reaching above and beyond all that has already been achieved. The art we experienced throughout our journey kept us in a state of alchemy.

We were then greeted by another guide who took us on the tour of the grounds where we could familiarize ourselves with Damanhurian lifestyle. For myself, and I know the others, it felt like heaven on earth. Sculptures and statues lined the pathways — some symbolic of Atlantean, and some new innovative art. The details in stained glass doors and windows were incomparable. We went into the workshops where the Damanhurians we creating giant medullas from stained glass. We toured temple grounds where we were told the story of how this extraordinary place Damanhur was originated.

Damanhur was born of a dream. The dream of a society based on optimism and the idea that human beings can be the master of their own destiny. There is a path that leads to the awakening of the inner master of each of us. Through study, experimentation, the full expression of individual potential and the elimination of dogmatic attitudes, life takes on a new form. The core of this philosophy is the conviction that every human being partakes in a divine nature. Damanhur is a society in constant evolution and transformation, in celebration of our differences, in celebration of the uniqueness of creative living.